Pura Praja Pati Hyang Aluh Besakih is the largest temple of Bali buth there is a syndicate operating around the temple who are rather aggressively

             

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The Mother Temple of Besakih, or Pura Besakih, in the village of Besakih on the slopes of Mount Agung in eastern Bali, Indonesia, is the most important, the largest and holiest temple of Hindu religion in Bali, and one of a series of Balinese temples

Perched nearly 1000 meters up the side of Gunung Agung, it is an extensive complex of 23 separate but related temples with the largest and most important being

Pura Penataran Agung

This is built on six levels, terraced up the slope

This entrance is an imposing Candi Bentar (split gateway), and beyond it the even more impressive Kori Agung is the gateway to the second courtyard

The precise origins of the temple are not clear but it almost certainly

dates from prehistoric times

The stone bases of Pura Penataran Agung and several other temples resemble megalithic stepped pyramids, which date back at least 2000 years

It was certainly used as a Hindu place of worship from 1284 when the first

Javanese conquerors settled in Bali

By the 15th century, Besakih had become a state temple of the Gelgel dynasty

A series of eruptions of Mount Agung in 1963, which killed approximately 1,700 people

also threatened Pura Besakih

The lava flows missed the temple complex by mere meters

The saving of the temple is regarded by the Balinese people as miraculous, and a signal from the gods that they wished to demonstrate their power but not destroy the monument the Balinese faithful had erected

Visitors to this temple should exercise caution as they target tourists by offering a

compulsory "tour guide" at exorbitant charges

They also perform "prayers" and request for tips at the end of the "tour"

Visitors who declined their "services" are dealt rather aggressively